This morning we drove to Loxton south of Berri but also on the Murray River and a centre of irrigated fruit growing.
On the way we turned off to look at Lock 4 where there was a display board explaining the salt interception scheme
installed in this area. This scheme around Lock 4 contains 23 pumps placed below the water table in bores where saline
groundwater is intercepted and pumped through a dedicated pipeline network to an evaporation pit where the fresh water
evaporates leaving crystallised salt
recoverable for resale. 20 observation bores record the level of the water table after pumping. Reduced levels of salt in
the Murray River at the official measuring site at Morgan have been attributed to this and other salt
interception schemes.

Citrus trees growing in orchard between Berri and Loxton. These fruit are ready to pick; picking is in progress in other orchards but citrus fruit appear not to ripen in a short time and orchards spread picking over several months.

Lock Four in the Murray River between Loxton and Berri.

Loxton Pioneer Village contains a wealth of buildings and artifacts from the pioneering days.

After lunch in Loxton we visited the Pioneer Village based on a replica of the original Loxton's hut built by a boundary rider in the nineteenth century and whose name was adopted for the village which grew up there. This was an interesting collection of buildings and bits and pieces from the early days of Loxton and the surrounding area.
We returned to Berri via the road to Kingston-on-Murray and the Sturt Highway. This drive confirmed the large number of grape vines in the Berri-Loxton area. While there were some areas of new vines, especially on this return drive, most vinyards contained established vines. This was pruning time and many vines looked neat and trim; those yet to be pruned had an unkempt look. As well as grape-vines (table grapes and wine grapes) there were citrus orchards with trees covered in fruit as well as a range of unidentified leafless fruit trees, probably stone fruit.
After reaching the Sturt Highway we turned off into Cobdogla to visit the steam pump museum but it was closed. We then drove back to Berri and stayed at the caravan for the rest of the afternoon.